Ocean seeding fails the acid test

IT ALL seemed too easy by half: to beat global warming just sprinkle some iron in the ocean, then watch as algae bloom en masse, sucking up carbon dioxide by the tonne. Now the idea is looking increasingly unlikely to go ahead in a big way. In the wake of a UN moratorium on the practice, the latest research suggests that seeding will trigger the build-up of an acid that can be lethal to marine organisms and humans.

The idea of ocean seeding has been controversial ever since it was first explored over a decade ago. Not enough is known about where the carbon goes once algae gobble it up, for instance, or whether the plants even bloom enough to appreciably lower atmospheric CO2 levels (New Scientist, 15 September 2007, p 42).

Last month, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity agreed that the potential dangers outweigh the benefits: its ...

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